Featured 16-bit MCU Boards

The dsPIC33CH Curiosity Development Board (DM330028) is intended as a cost effective development and demonstration platform for the dsPIC33CH128MP508 family of dual core high performance digital signal controllers.

Designed from the ground-up to take full advantage of Microchip’s MPLAB® X IDE, the board includes an integrated programmer/debugger and requires no additional hardware, making it a perfect starting point to explore the dsPIC33CH dual core family.

The dsPIC33CH Curiosity Development Board (DM330028-2) is intended as a cost effective development and demonstration platform for the entire dsPIC33CH family of dual core high performance digital signal controllers.

Designed from the ground-up to take full advantage of Microchip’s MPLAB® X IDE, the board includes an integrated programmer/debugger and requires no additional hardware, making it a perfect starting point to explore the dsPIC33CH dual core family.

Visit our Curiosity Design Center for more information on the Curiosity platform.

The dsPIC33CK Curiosity Development Board (DM330030) is a cost-effective development and demonstration platform for the dsPIC33CK family of single-core high performance digital signal controllers.
Designed to take full advantage of Microchip’s MPLAB® X IDE, the board includes an integrated programmer/debugger and requires no additional hardware, making it a perfect starting point to explore the dsPIC33CK family.
Visit our Curiosity Design Center for more information on the Curiosity platform.

The Microchip dsPICDEM™ MCHV-2 Development System is intended to aid the user in the rapid evaluation and development of a wide variety of motor control applications using a dsPIC® Digital Signal Controller (DSC). This development system is targeted to control Brushless DC (BLDC) motors, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM), and AC Induction Motors (ACIM) in sensor or sensorless operation. This flexible and cost-effective tool can be configured in different ways for use with Microchip’s specialized motor control DSCs. The dsPICDEM™ MCHV-2 Development System supports the dsPIC33F and dsPIC33E Motor Control device family and offers a mounting option to connect either a 28-pin SOIC device or a generic 100-pin Plug-In Module (PIM). The system has a three-phase power module device that contains the motor inverter and the gate driver’s circuitry. The circuit drives a BLDC, PMSM, or ACIM motor using different control techniques without requiring any additional hardware. The MCHV-2 supports using either the internal opamps found on certain dsPIC33E products or the external opamps found on the MCHV-2 board for current sensing.

The rated continuous output current from the inverter is 6.5A (RMS). This allows up to approximately 2 kVA output when running from a 208V to 230V single-phase input voltage in a maximum 30ºC (85ºF) ambient temperature environment. Therefore, the system is ideally suited for running a standard 3-Phase Induction Motor of up to 1.4 kW (1.8 HP) rating or a slightly higher rated industrial servo-motor. The power module is capable of driving other types of motors and electrical loads that do not exceed the maximum power limit and are predominantly inductive. Furthermore, single-phase loads can be driven using one or two of the inverter outputs. The unit is capable of operating from 90V up to a maximum of 265V.

The MCHV-2(DM330023-2) replaces the previous MCHV (DM330023) and is fully backwards compatible with the previous MCHV(DM330023) and all motor control PIMs.

The Microchip dsPICDEM™ MCHV-3 Development System is intended to aid the user in the rapid evaluation and development of a wide variety of motor control applications using a dsPIC® Digital Signal Controller (DSC). This development system is targeted to control Brushless DC (BLDC) motors, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM), and AC Induction Motors (ACIM) in sensor or sensorless operation. This flexible and cost-effective tool can be configured in different ways for use with Microchip’s specialized motor control DSCs. The dsPICDEM™ MCHV-3 Development System supports the dsPIC33F and dsPIC33E Motor Control device family and offers a mounting option to connect either a 28-pin SOIC device or a generic 100-pin Plug-In Module (PIM). The system has a three-phase power module device that contains the motor inverter and the gate driver’s circuitry. The circuit drives a BLDC, PMSM, or ACIM motor using different control techniques without requiring any additional hardware. The MCHV-2 supports using either the internal opamps found on certain dsPIC33E products or the external opamps found on the MCHV-3 board for current sensing. It also has Power Factor Correction (PFC) circuitry to meet power regulatory requirements.

The rated continuous output current from the inverter is 6.5A (RMS). This allows up to approximately 2 kVA output when running from a 208V to 230V single-phase input voltage in a maximum 30ºC (85ºF) ambient temperature environment. Therefore, the system is ideally suited for running a standard 3-Phase Induction Motor of up to 1.4 kW (1.8 HP) rating or a slightly higher rated industrial servo-motor. The power module is capable of driving other types of motors and electrical loads that do not exceed the maximum power limit and are predominantly inductive. Furthermore, single-phase loads can be driven using one or two of the inverter outputs. The unit is capable of operating from 90V up to a maximum of 265V.

The MCHV-3(DM330023-3) complements the previous MCHV-2 (DM330023-2) and is fully backwards compatible with the previous MCHV-2(DM330023-2) and all motor control PIMs.

The dsPICDEM™ MCLV-2 Development Board provides a cost-effective method of evaluating and developing sensored or sensorless Brushless DC (BLDC) and permanent magnet synchronous motor control applications. The board supports Microchip’s 100-pin Plug-In-Modules with dsPIC33E, dsPIC33F and PIC32MK Digital Signal Controllers. The board supports the use of the internal, on chip OpAmps found on certain dsPIC® devices or the external OpAmps found on the MCLV-2 board. A dsPIC33EP256MC506 Internal OpAmp PIM (MA330031) is included. The board is capable of controlling motors rated up to 48V and 15A, with multiple communication channels such as USB, CAN, LIN and RS-232.

The dsPICDEM™ MCLV-2 Development Board is targeted to control a Brushless DC (BLDC) motor or Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) in sensor or sensorless operation. This flexible and cost-effective board can be configured in different ways for use with Microchip’s specialized motor control digital signal controllers. The dsPICDEM™ MCLV-2 Development Board supports the dsPIC33E, dsPIC33F and PIC32MK motor control device families, as well as recently added support for the ATSAME70 family of ARM Cortex M7 microcontrollers. It offers a mounting option to connect a generic 100-pin Plug-In Module (PIM).

The Explorer 16/32 Development Kit is a flexible, convenient and ready to start development, demonstration and testing platform for 16-bit PIC24 MCUs, dsPIC® DSCs and 32-bit PIC32 MCUs from Microchip Technology. It features all the necessary hardware to begin developing and debugging a complete embedded application. The board accepts Processor Plug-In Modules (PIM) designed for the Explorer 16 or Explorer 16/32 development board for easy device swapping. In addition to the hardware features provided by the board, hardware expansion is possible through the use of PICtail™ Plus daughter cards and mikroBUS™ accessory boards. Coupled with the integrated PICkit™-On-Board (PKOB), MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger or MPLAB REAL ICE™ real-time emulation and debug facilities enable faster evaluation and prototyping of application.
The development kit comes with Explorer 16/32 main development board, PIC24FJ1024GB610 PIM (MA240023), USB A to micro-B cable, and USB A to Type-C Cable. For out of the box experience, Explorer 16/32 Development Kit is the right choice that comes with all the necessary components to get started with the evaluation and prototyping right away!

Also read about Explorer 16/32 Development Board
Backwards Compatibility
Explorer 16/32 Development Board is completely backwards compatible with the Classic Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001 and DM240002) and its associated ecosystem that include:

Process or Plug-In Modules (PIMs)

PICtail Plus Daughter Boards

Code Examples, Prototypes and Software Libraries developed on Classic Explorer 16 Development Board

The LCD Explorer Development Board supports Microchip’s 100-pin Microcontrollers with x8 common Segment LCD Drivers. The LCD Explorer provides an ideal platform for a customer to evaluate a MCU with a x8 Common LCD Driver on a 38 segment x 8 common LCD display. PICtail Plus connections allow a customer to evaluate the selected MCU in a complex system by adding Microchip’s PICtail Plus daughter boards.

The Low Voltage Motor Control Development Bundle provides a cost-effective method of evaluating and developing dual/single motor control power stage targeted to drive two Brushless DC (BLDC) motors or Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM) concurrently. The bundle comes with a dsPIC DSC Signal board, Motor Control 10-24V Driver Board and dsPIC33EP512GM710 Dual Motor Control PIM.

The dsPIC (DSC) Signal Board supports both 3.3V and 5V operated devices for various applications and frequently used human interface features along with the communication ports. The Signal Board has two major connectors, a 120-pin connector and a 60-pin connector to enable connection to the plug-in boards.

The Motor Control 10V–24V Driver Board (Dual/Single) along with the compatible dsPIC DSC Signal Board provides a software development platform to build and evaluate embedded motor control application software using Microchip’s high performance motor control Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs) and Microcontrollers (MCUs).

Low Voltage Power Factor Correction (LVPFC) Development Kit offers safe voltage levels at moderate power while designing algorithms on a boost power factor correction topology. These algorithms can be applied on real systems under development with minimal changes. The LVPFC Development Board utilizes the dsPIC33EP128GS806 device, supporting full digital and advanced power control algorithm schemes.

The Three Coil Wireless Power Transmitter is based on the dsPIC33CH128MP506 device and implements a fixed frequency power control topology. The front-end buck-boost control is managed by the dsPIC33CH device. The transmitter includes CAN for ease of integration into the automotive environment. The transmitter also enables the implementation of NFC.

Microchip’s dual-core dsPIC33CH devices integrates the wireless power software stack along with CAN-FD software, Front-end Buck- Boost control, NFC software stack, and Crypto Authentication software. The software is partitioned between the two cores such that the wireless power control is implemented independently on one core and all the remaining functions are implemented in the other core. This partitioning facilitates independent code development on separate modules and enables parallel execution of the Qi protocol and other functions such as NFC

The PIC24F Curiosity Development Board is a cost-effective, fully integrated 16-bit development platform targeted at first-time users, Makers, and those seeking a feature-rich rapid prototyping board. Designed from the ground-up to take full advantage of Microchip’s MPLAB® X IDE and MPLAB Xpress Cloud-based IDE, the board includes an integrated programmer/debugger and requires no additional hardware, making it a perfect starting point to explore PIC24F MCUs.
The PIC24F Curiosity Board is the perfect platform to harness the power of 16-bit PIC24F Microcontrollers. Its layout and external connections offer unparalleled access to the Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs). These CIPs enable the user to integrate various system functions onto a single MCU, simplifying the design and keeping system power consumption and BOM cost low.

Crafted for Cloud-Based DevelopmentThe PIC24F Curiosity Development Board offers seamless integration with software tool chain, including the MPLAB Xpress Cloud-based IDE, XC16 complier and MPLAB Code Configurator for easy set-up and prototyping.
Internet of Things (IoT) Ready The PIC24F Curiosity Board can help turn your IoT design idea into a reality. Out of the box, the board offers several options for user interface—including switches, LEDs and potentiometer. A full complement of accessory boards are available via the MikroElectronika mikroBUS™ interface. To address the security requirements in IoT designs, PIC24FJ128GA204 comes equipped with integrated hardware Cryptographic engine for data encryption/decryption and authentication. In addition, Bluetooth® Low Energy communication can easily be added using Microchip’s BM71 module footprint.

The PIC24FJ256GA7 Curiosity Development Board is a cost-effective, fully integrated 16-bit development platform targeted at first-time users, makers, and those seeking a feature-rich rapid prototyping board. Designed from the ground-up to take full advantage of Microchip’s MPLAB® X IDE and MPLAB Xpress Cloud-based IDE, the board includes an integrated programmer/debugger and requires no additional hardware, making it a perfect starting point to explore the latest low-cost and eXtreme Low Power (XLP) 16-bit PIC24FJ256GA705 family of Microcontrollers.

The PIC24FJ256GA7 Curiosity Board enables easy and faster adoption of low-cost XLP 16-bit PIC24FJ256GA705 family of microcontrollers. PIC24FJ256GA705 microcontroller featuring up to 256KB of ECC flash and 16KB of RAM, is ideally suited for low power general purpose applications. The layout and external connections of PIC24FJ256GA7 Curiosity board offer unparalleled access to the Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) such as CLC, MCCP and DMA. These CIPs enable the user to integrate various system functions onto a single MCU, simplifying the design and keeping system power consumption and BOM cost low.

Crafted for Cloud-Based Development
The PIC24FJ256GA7 Curiosity Development Board offers seamless integration with the Microchip software tool chain, including the MPLAB Xpress Cloud-based IDE, XC16 compiler and MPLAB Code Configurator for easy set-up and prototyping.

Internet of Things (IoT) Ready
Have an IoT design in mind? The PIC24FJ256GA7 Curiosity Board can help turn your IoT design idea into reality. The board can enable applications with low power, low pin count and small footprint requirements as in IoT sensor nodes. Out of the box, the board offers several options for user interface—including switches, RGB LED, User LEDs and analog potentiometer. In addition, wireless connectivity can easily be added using 2 mikroBUS™ interfaces and wireless connectivity click boards™. A full complement of accessory boards is available via the MikroElectronika mikroBUS™ interfaces.

Today, LED lighting meets the need for energy-efficient lighting solutions and is well poised for a varied number of general purpose and industrial applications such as consumer lighting, solar powered lighting and more. The LED Flashlight Board is based on Microchip’s eXtreme Low Power (XLP) and the cost-effective PIC32MM “GPL” family of microcontrollers. For applications demanding low power, longer battery life and small form factor, the PIC32MM devices offer sleep modes down to 500 nA and packages as small as 4×4 mm. This family features Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) such as Comparators and Multiple-output Capture Compare PWMs (MCCPs) which help enable power conversion and motor control applications.

The LED Flashlight board demonstrates the powerful PIC32MM0064GPL028 XLP microcontroller featuring up to 64 KB ECC flash and 8 KB of RAM and is ideally suited to implement an entry level digital power application. The layout and external connections of the LED Flashlight demo board offer unparalleled access to the CIPs such as Comparators and MCCP that are designed to offload the CPU to be in power saving mode, thereby enabling longer battery life. These CIPs enable the user to integrate various system functions onto a single MCU, simplifying the design and keeping system power consumption low. Owing to a higher flash size up to 64 KB, a communication stack can be easily implemented. In this demo, flash size of 32 KB is used to implement the motion sensor calibration stack, leaving additional room to implement other functions.

Demonstration Overview

This demonstration utilizes the 28-pin XLP PIC32MM0064GPL028 MCU to enable all required functions necessary to create closed-loop boost converter to drive a string of three LEDs with minimal intervention from the CPU. The demo highlights a cost-effective and flexible platform for creating variations in LED lighting that is suitable for power conversion and other general purpose applications. Different modes of operation showcase various capabilities of the MCU like high performance 32-bit MIPS microAptiv™ core and integrated analog peripherals that aid in implementing a PI control loop and SPI for integrating a motion sensor. This motion sensor is used to detect a shake to switch between the modes:

The PIC-IoT WG Development Board combines a powerful PIC24FJ128GA705 MCU, an ATECC608A CryptoAuthentication™ secure element IC and the fully-certified ATWINC1510 Wi-Fi® network controller - which provides the most simple and effective way to connect your embedded application to the Google Cloud IoT Core. The board also includes an on-board debugger, and requires no external hardware to program and debug the MCU.

Out of the box, the MCU comes preloaded with firmware that enables you to quickly connect and send data to the Google Cloud Platform using the on-board temperature and light sensors. Once you are ready to build your own custom design, you can easily generate code using the free software libraries in MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC).